


Good Morning, Night Vale (Part II)

by Joanne_Lupin



Series: HS!AU Welcome to Night Vale drabbles~ [2]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Heavy Angst, M/M, References to Destiel Smutfics, References to Homophobia, References to Supernatural (TV), References to bullying, Suicidal Thoughts, Triggers, oh god so much angst i'm so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-11
Packaged: 2017-12-23 04:30:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joanne_Lupin/pseuds/Joanne_Lupin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place pretty much where part I left off...</p><p>Carlos and Cecil text each other; the really, awfully angsty story behind Cecil and Dana's friendship comes to light; and then there's fluff and the promise of nice things like Supernatural-watching to make up for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good Morning, Night Vale (Part II)

**Author's Note:**

> MAJOR TRIGGER WARNINGS! Be safe, please. <3
> 
> PLEASE don't get your hopes up about this whole Good Morning, Night Vale thing becoming, like, its own series. If you get your hopes up, we'll both be disappointed. I suck at finishing things. This series is just a set of drabbles that will probably be related, but to varying degrees. It puts less pressure on me to make it a thing, and I write better when I'm not under pressure.

When Cecil took out his phone to program in Carlos’ number, he saw that Dana texted him. The text said simply, “call me. now.” It had been sent during last period. They both had study hall then, but in different rooms.

Confused, Cecil looked around. Dana rode the same bus as him. Just then, Dana hopped into the bus. 

“Cecil! Cecil, save me a seat!” she called. Soon after, she’d plopped down next to Cecil, who had chosen a seat in the back of the bus. “I was trying to find you for _ages,_ Ceec! I have news!”

“It’s not about the morning announcements thing, right? Cuz I saw.”

Dana shook her head violently. “Oh, no, it’s not. Congrats, though- I knew you’d get it. But there are _way_ more important issues at hand. Carlos issues.”

“Carlos issues?” She definitely had Cecil’s interest. 

Dana launched into her story in whispered tones. “Yeah, okay, so I have study hall with him after lunch. And so I sat next to him and I was like, ‘How was your lunch with Carlsberg?’ and he said it was boring and I was like, ‘Oh, then you should eat with us next time’ and he was like, ‘I guess I should.’ And _then_ he- oh my god, Ceec, you won’t believe this- he asked me if we were dating!" (Cecil snorted.) "So I told him, ‘I’m not his type. Probably has something to do with my significant lack of dick.’ And he blushed, like, really hard, and he was like, ‘Oh, so he’s gay?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And then he nodded and he asked which locker was yours and _oh my fuck Ceec you were right he’s totally gay!_ ”

“To be fair, he could be bi,” Cecil whispered back with a shrug.

“And not be interested in _this_ hot piece of ass?” Dana gestured to herself. “No way!”

Cecil laughed. “Well, that solves one mystery, anyway.” He pulled out the note with Carlos’ number and showed it to Dana. 

“He gave you his number? Oh my god, Ceec, you need to text him this instant!”

Cecil’s face grew pale. “What am I supposed to text him? ‘Hey, this is Cecil, I think your hair is made of magic’?”

Dana rolled her eyes. “I’ll help you, don’t worry.”

They spent the rest of the bus ride going over several drafts of Cecil’s first text to Carlos. Finally, they decided on something short and simple:

“hi, Carlos! this is Cecil. c u at lunch 2morrow?”

They reached their stop soon after. They walked together, giggling excitedly. Right before they reached Cecil’s house, Dana stopped and put her hands on her best friend’s shoulders. 

“Okay, Ceec? Serious time now, okay?” she said gravely. Cecil nodded, not knowing what to expect. Dana looked worried. “Listen. I know you like to write in, like, _everything_ that happens into your blog, but if you even _start_ talking about Carlos in morning announcements, I will… I’ll…” She tried to think of a suitable faux-threat until she decided against using one at all. “It doesn’t matter. Just… just don’t okay?”

“Why would you think I’d-?”

“Cecil, I know you. I know how you open up when you’re, like, performing and stuff.” Dana looked almost scared. “It’s a good thing, Ceec. You need that. But don’t do it when you’re broadcasting. I don’t want a repeat of… you know…” She was tearing up now. Realization hit Cecil, and he pulled his best friend into his arms. 

“It’s okay, Dana. I’d never even _consider_ over-sharing on the announcements.”

Cecil continued to comfort Dana and they were forced to remember the afternoon when Dana had gotten a call and she could hear Cecil’s voice shaking and sobbing and he was telling her that the bullies in Desert Bluffs were too much for him to handle anymore and he had a full bottle of Advil right in front of him and he was so scared and he felt sick. Dana lived far away, in Night Vale, and all she could do was stay on her cell with Cecil as she used the landline to call 911 because they could take him to a place where he could calm down without seeing the Advil bottle or anything else that he could use to hurt himself. (Soon after that, Cecil moved in with his aunt so that he could go to Night Vale High with Dana. The school was much more LGBT+-friendly.)

Dana finally pushed away, shaking her head and furiously wiping her tears away. “I know you won’t do anything stupid, Ceec, I just- I worry sometimes…”

“Don’t,” Cecil replied. “I’m doing okay.”

Something crossed Dana’s face so quickly Cecil thought he might have imagined it. “Good. I really need to go, Ceec. I have mad math homework.”

“Ugh. Math. See you tomorrow!” Cecil waved her off, and she went. 

Just as he opened the door, Dana called down the street. “Hey, don’t forget to check your phone! You forget to do that sometimes! You really need to keep it on vibrate!”

“You can still hear it on vibrate!” Cecil shouted back, rolling his eyes. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked. Sure enough, there was a text from Carlos. He squeaked excitedly. 

“What are you so excited about?” asked Cecil’s aunt, Mayra, from the living room.

“Nothing,” Cecil responded. He dropped his backpack near the front door and retreated to his room. 

The text read: “totally :)” 

Cecil replied with: “good. seeya then :)”

Then he got out his laptop and opened a word document.

The blog was just a stupid little thing Cecil had started for fun. Only, like, five people followed him. He didn’t care too much. He just enjoyed imagining something a little bit cooler, a little more surreal than real life. With Carlos’ arrival, he figured he had enough material to publish for his next post. He started writing.

“A new man came into town today. Who is he? What does he want from us? Why his perfect and beautiful haircut? Why his perfect and beautiful coat? He says he is a scientist. Well, we have all been scientists and one point or another in our lives. But why now? Why here? And just what does he plan to do with all those breakers and humming electrical instruments in that lab he is renting—the one next to Big Ricco’s Pizza? No one does a slice like Big Ricco. No one.”

Cecil added a few other sections, then smiled, satisfied with his work. He could _not_ wait to record the audio for this post. 

-o0o-

Carlos did, indeed, sit with Dana and Cecil the next day. 

There was, however, a slight problem.

As Cecil and Carlos headed to the cafeteria, Cecil cursed under his breath.

“What’s up?” Carlos asked.

“I forgot- I have a meeting today. Speech,” he clarified. 

“Speech?”

“Yeah, it’s, like, a competitive sport, but with words,” Cecil explained. “It’s fun. But yeah, I have a start-up meeting today during lunch.”

“Oh. So you can’t eat lunch with m- er, with Dana and me?” Carlos blushed, but Cecil didn’t really notice. He didn’t really look at people when he talked to them.

“Well, I might be able to for a little bit, but I have to go to the front of the line so I can get there in time, so I’ll probably be done eating before you sit down.”

“Oh…” Carlos thought for a moment. “Hey, what if I went with you? Just to check it out, I mean. I probably won’t join…”

Cecil brightened. “You totally should! Your voice is nice, you could totally do it!”

“Are you kidding? I hate public speaking! Besides- have you heard _your_ voice? It’s like-” Carlos coughed. It sounded like he was choking on his own spit, or maybe his own words. “It’s awesome,” he finished lamely.

Cecil shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess…”

“Dude, I’m, like, a gazillion per cent sure that people would pay money to hear you read the phone book live.”

“Really?” Cecil glanced up at Carlos. Before the other boy could respond, Cecil said, “Carlos, there is no way you can be a gazillion per cent sure. It’s a mathematical impossibility. You’re a scientist; you should know this.”

Carlos laughed. “Who said I was a scientist? I just like science.”

“Yeah, but you probably _will be_ a scientist, and then, if you use hyperbole like that, people will laugh at you. And that’s not nice,” Cecil said with joking conviction.

They were in the cafeteria now. Cecil led Carlos to the front and murmured something about a meeting. The other students let them budge. Once they’d gotten their food, they sat down across from each other at one of the many long tables. Dana sat next to them moments later, holding a brown paper bag. “Nice of you to look for me,” she said sarcastically.

“I thought you’d have to wait in line,” Cecil said.

“This may surprise you,” Dana replied, “but I occasionally think ahead. I know you have to go to Josie’s today, so here I am!” She waved the bag for emphasis. “Ugh, her room is so weird. I mean, it’s cool that she’s obsessed with ‘Supernatural’ and everything, but does she really need that many pictures of Cas in her room? I mean, I’ve read so much fanfiction about him buttfucking Dean- I don’t need to think about that while I’m trying to learn vocab!”

There was a second that seemed to Cecil like an infinity. He could feel himself grow beet red. Because Dana was talking about gay, pornographic fanfiction right in front of Carlos, and he didn’t know whether the remark would scare Carlos off, and what if he thought they were weird and perverted and never talked to them again and-

Then Carlos laughed. Cecil let out a breath.

“I’ve heard of that show. What’s it about, anyways?”

“It’s really good. I’ve been trying to get Ceec to watch it for ages, now!” Cecil shot a glare at Dana. The nickname was okay with just the two of them, but what if Carlos thought it sounded baby-ish? Dana continued, unperturbed. “You two could watch it together!”

All ilk at Dana melted away instantly. “I’d be up for that,” Carlos said cheerfully. “Cecil?”

“I guess… It looks so scary, though!”

Dana rolled her eyes. “It’s totally not. And anyways, Carlos will protect you from all the big, bad monsters! Wontcha, Carlos?”

Both boys turned red. 

“Hey, don’t you have to go, Ceec?” Dana asked suddenly.

“Yeah, yeah I do…” Cecil got up. “You still wanna go?”

“Uh, sure,” Carlos replied. Dana gave Cecil a confused look. Cecil responded with a shrug that meant, “I’ll explain later.” 

The two of them threw away their trash and extra food, then made their way to Ms. Josie’s room. 

“So… You go by Ceec?” Carlos asked. 

Cecil frowned. “Only Dana calls me that. I dunno about it, though; it sounds kinda diminutive…” 

“Really? I think it’s nice.”

“Oh.” Cecil glanced at him quickly. “I guess you can use it, then, if you want…”

“Okay, then, Ceec!” And Carlos actually _giggled._

The meeting was pretty boring. It was all stuff Cecil had heard before. It was more exciting to watch Carlos absorb the information from out of the corner of his eye. He actually wrote his name down on the sheet of the names of people interested in becoming part of the team. 

Under the “Debate” section.”

Cecil had never had any interest in doing Debate, but there was something suddenly very interesting about the activity…


End file.
